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Show Ex. Doc. No. 41. 433 around the horizon. They, ll o wever, clt v id <'<1 and p:HHi<'d along the ridges on each sid' of th<· riv<·r vall<·y; as the glorious light ol' the setting sun shon ·between the division it contra~tcd strongly with tht' black clouds on our right and left. The day had he n warm, now cool gusts of wincl eam<' puflin~ along th<• valltty, braring the ref r c s h in g c c n t of n · w fa Ill' n r a i n . ' c v c r a 1 hawks, w h o s <' outlines cut sharp against the clark eloud ·,were sporting in llH' air, sometimes with rapid ucating wings contPnding against the wind, and then, ccH~ing all efforts, ~udd<·nly swept along. Notwitb landing the risk of a dn•nching, we continu<•d our march to the mouth of the "Rio 'I'impa," nearly eight miles west of llcnt'H, when we encamped on the banks of the Arkansa . ncfore dark s ·vcral wagons belonging to Lieutenant Simpson, Mis ouri volunteers, and Mr. St. Vrain, eamC' up with us. We cnjoyc<l our supper · a~ if we had that day taken a long j ou rn ey. '!'he v cry id t•a of onec more getting on t h <' p ra iric producrd a pleasurable cxcit<.'lll<'nt that extend >d its inJlucncc to our dormant appdites, for want of exercise and confincm •nt to the fort had nol agreed with a11y of us. At night we had a scn.·nadc f'rom a full choir <Jf prairie wolves; they colic ·ted around our eamp in gr<'at numbers, nn(l broke forth in sud< 1 c n burs l s of t h • i r in i m i lab I c rn us i c. T lH' r c are tim 's w h c n the wolf's howl sounds pl<'Cl!'iantly, and a~ain there are times when the spirits of .\cso1ation ~ct•mcd to b(' conjured up by it. September 10.-ThiH morniug L got several spcci<•s of willow, amongst which wa:1 the long !(•afcd willow, (salix e:mgu'ltifolia;) also two 'aricti •s of cotton wood, \ V. l'anadcnsis, and P. monolift• ra;) the former is often us<•tl in wint<·r to f<•t•d horst•s and mule~, and they seem to rditih it greatly; of the latt<•r tlu•y arc not fond. We tried to start early, but two of our mules gave us a long chase ucfon: we could catch tht•m. At length we };tart<'tl up the Timpa. On either ~ide, the prairit• was covered with a dt•ns<• grov.rth of artemisia, under whil'h the timid hare sought shcltc.•r; ever and anon the agile antelope, in drov<•s of twenty or thirty, would dash across the road an cl :-p<·c.•d away, unli I getting the wind of us, they woulcl sucldenly stop, and, wheeling rapidly, dash off in another clirectiou with rcncw(•d velocity. W<' soon came in sight of "Las Cumures I·~~paiiolas," or the Spanish peaks, th •it twinned s~mmits towcrin g auove the douds that d ri ftl·d mid way up their sules. Our route uorc direct Jor the pral<R. The road was vt•ry dusty, and the wind <"onstantly annoyetl us, hcavlllg up grc :d clouds of dust and ~and, and dnshin~ them into our facc.•s. The <· ·,u 1try around us was l'Xlremcly st •rilt•. Its sandy bosom eoverc.·d v. tth cadi, ;unnn~st \\ hich Wl'l'C the' ecr<·us cr~pitosa, and caet11s opuntia, and ht•rt• and tht re, <.lust<•r<'d in groups, the bristling u .. IJnPl ll'avt·~ of the yurc ,t angn~tifoli01, and un~l ·r our feet hundn. d~ of horut•d fro ·,~ (agam:t corn uta) \'l'<'rc crawlwg about without htcdino· our vroximity . W c marched twenty mile~, an<\ cnc mprd about on<> mile bl'yond th.e point at \\ hieh the army lwd turned oif from the road. The Tunpa at this place is three-fourths of a milr from the road, and 28 |
